Critical Pedagogy in Global Cultural Discourse: A Critical Examination of the Role of Western-Centric Education Systems, Media Stereotypes, and NGO Interventions in Shaping the Cultural Identity of Non-Western Societies

Abstract

This study analyzes the role of critical pedagogy in the understanding of the process of western-centric education systems, media stereotypes, and NGO interventions on the cultural identity of non-western societies, as a cultural exchange in the global frontier. In particular, it discusses the role of these processes in the success of Western cultural hegemony and its relegation of local knowledge systems, cultural practice of local identities. It explores the ideological underpinnings of Western models of education, the encapsulation of non-Western cultures in the global media sphere and how NGO-based developmental initiatives help inform the global culture. In the light of critical pedagogy, this study questions the cultural flow of culture, showing how cultural exchange is usually one way but always biased in the end to the other in maintaining unequal power in the world. The paper also examines how these forces impact on social justice, cultural sovereignty and empowerment of marginalized groups of people. Relying on the forms of global media, education systems, and NGO practices, the study highlights the necessity of the use of a more inclusive, pluralistic method of cultural exchange. It concludes by provoking critical pedagogy as a model of regaining cultural identity, promoting equitable cultural dialogue, and encouraging the non-western voices to be empowered in the international discourse.